Bits and Pieces of this life of mine

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I don’t know if it’s because my cycle is ending and the hormones are still having their ‘fun’ with me (TMI, I know), or what, but today I became pretty angry at work and those that I report to. Today I truly felt ‘over worked & under appreciated’ when I was scolded at with regard to what tasks I had deemed priority and what were not. Might sound petty to y’all, but given all the tasks that I am responsible for and how I am the only person that does these tasks – which means that when I am not at work these tasks do not get done – … everything is a big deal to me.

I’m starting to get to the point where I am reviewing the past five years at my current employer and realize that the next five years are, more than likely, going to be the exact same because there is absolutely no growth opportunities at this place. How can I apply what I’ve learned during the past 12 months since going back to school when I am stuck in a position that I can not apply this knowledge to?

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I’ve finally gotten around to uploading our vacation pictures! As well as some picture’s of Amelia’s birthday. Greg didn’t want me to upload the pictures until he edited them, but I’ve become impatient and I know Greg’s grandparents have been wanting to see them as well (they check the Flickr account regularly).

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Greg and I have begun to casually, yet seriously, look at houses and focus on area’s we want to live in. Ultimately, we’d like to buy a single family home but Greg is super picky on the areas were these homes are available so we might end up in a townhouse.

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Only 9 more months until our cruise… I could get pregnant and have a baby by the time we cruise… which is completely possible.

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Speaking of babies, my cousin April is going to have another baby girl! Olivia is excited to have a baby sister! And, I can say that Greg and I are, more or less, actively trying to conceive our second child. I’m hoping that we will have our second child by the end of 2011 (which means I have until March to get pregnant). I have a weird thing for numbers and the numbers 7 & 11 are my lucky number; well, Amelia was born in 2007 so I am hopeful that the second will be here in 2011. I’m weird, right?

I love swimming. Like, borderline addiction, love. And, I am so excited that Amelia is potty trained because that means we will be spending every free moment at the community pool!

We took Amelia on Monday for her first swim. She didn’t care for it at first but with in minutes she was jumping off the side of the pool! See for your self:

Or, better yet, watch a clip:

As you can tell, we have a camera that we can take underwater. Actually, it’s a underwater housing unit that we bought for my point and shoot camera to use on the cruise but never had the opportunity.

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As previously mentioned, May was one helleva busy month. I had a photography gig and shot for 56Kay (all the pictures on their site were taken by me) and ended up meeting Matt Beilis (you should also check out his YouTube page; he’s awesome).

Matt Beilis and his band:

(I have a thing for drummers)

I love going to live shows; they’re so much fun. And, I get to meet and hang out with really awesome people.

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School is keeping me busy… sorta. This particular course is kinda on the too easy side, so I don’t really pay that much attention to the lecture and breeze through the lab and quiz. I’ve maintained an A for the course without much effort. The next two classes that start next month are going to much more challenging as one of them is psychology.

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The photography gig at the local hospital is going well. The commissions are starting to roll in and each week is a nice surprise! It’s kind of funny (in the non-haha way), I’ve noticed that I generate more sales in the two days that I work than the other chick does in the 5 days that she works (and she’s been working as a photographer for 2 years). I don’t know if it’s because I’m more sociable to the new parents, or that I (possibly) take better pictures. Though, it’s not like I am complaining, but a thought of interest that occurred to me.

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We’re 3 months and twenty some-number of days until we arrive at Disney World! Amelia is getting so excited about meeting all her favorite characters. I’m starting to get a little excited as well, though I think it will really sink in once we reach August…. which at the rate the months are flying by, it’ll be here soon!

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We don’t have any concrete Summer plans. I was talking to my Mom about taking a girls trip to Ocean City, MD during the week at some point and she’s keen with that idea. The reason we’d visit during the week, aside from obvious reasons: cheaper room rates and low crowds, is because I have a shit load of vacation days to use; like in excess of 20+ days. And, it’s totally sad that I had a mild anxiety attack when I calculated and confirmed with HR how many days I have left… because I don’t want to miss work. I’m a freak. I know. It’s just that I hate having work pile up while I am gone. Because there isn’t anyone to replace me when I am out. Talk about job security, right? So, I’m going to have to find something to do and go to during the week to burn off some days. Joy.

Christmas Eve was a little stressful, as previously mentioned. We did get just about all the presents wrapped (ran out of paper) and Greg found a printer good enough to keep AND nicely priced (Canon Pixma).

So, lets get to the details shall we>

Christmas Eve:

Greg and I didn’t leave home until 8pm – way behind schedule. We stopped at Greg’s Mom first and hung out for an hour or so. Greg’s middle brother, Pat, was home and it was nice to catch-up with him. Greg and I also brought our gifts for his side of the family for them to open. Everyone loved their new quilts and duvet covers from Ikea.

As mentioned, we bought Greg’s Mom a one way plane ticket and she left for Colorado on Christmas Day, hense the reason we visited on Christmas Eve. To date, we know she’s on her way home – we spoke with her on Sunday and she had left that morning. She’s driving all the way back!

We left around 9pm and headed south to my Mom’s. We didn’t arrive until 11:45pm. I stayed up to finish wrapping presents while Greg went to bed.

Christmas Day:

Rough night of sleep; don’t like sleeping on an air mattress with Mr. RollsOverAlot. I believe we woke up around 7am-ish. We debated on waiting for my brother, but given his lack of punctuality we sorta waited; we let Amelia open her presents:

Christmas was good to us; Amelia received an easel set (still in Greg’s car) and accessories; a vanity set; lots of new stuffed animals (penguin, polar bear, mouse, bear, etc); toy pots and pans; toy food. Greg received a nice airplane book from my parents; a radio scanner and book of codes; a photography book (understanding exposure); DS Game: Personal Cooking (which is really neat); and lounge pants from my Grandma. I received a journey pendant; calendar (family tradition); DS Game; a couple of nice photo frames; a really nice Hallmark photo album; Sealab 2021 – seasons 1 and 2; and Dark Knight on DVD. Greg also bought me (more of a wedding present than Christmas present) a new lens! It’s a 55-250mm lens, it takes great close up pictures (and all the pictures I’m posting were taken with the new lens – well, all but one); can’t wait to see how well it does during the cruise – hello food porn!

Mom cooked a nice breakfast for everyone:

and after breakfast we just chilled. Van left to get my Mom’s gift, which was at the ‘shop’. Mom hadn’t seen Dark Knight so we put that in and then watched a few Sealab 2021 episodes. After a while we decided to go outside and give Lucy a carrot. Amelia is fearless with this horse!

After a walk through the yard we went inside and hung out some more; Sean and Greg were glued to the TV

A little while later Van arrived with Mom’s big gift and needed Sean and Greg’s help bringing it in

See that big mass of blue tarp? That’s Mom’s gift. Mom and I watched from the window and tried to guess what it could be; we joked that it was some type of equipment, like a new industrial ice maker or something outrageous like that. Boy was my Mom surprised to see, as Van was removing the layers upon layers of tarp, that it was an upright Piano! My Mom, literally, was jumping up and down screaming with joy! My Mom has been wanting a ‘real’ piano for as long as I can remember and was over the moon with excitement; probably the best surprise she’s ever received (of course, not including when I told her I was pregnant). Mom immediately began clearing a space for the piano and then the boys started to bring it in. Amelia instantly fell in love with the instrument and did not want to part from it:

Greg had to work the day after Christmas, but I didn’t!! So, we left Mom’s at 6:30 and made our way home. Amelia slept on the way hope and didn’t fight too much once we were home. Greg and I stayed up pretty late and then went to bed.

Day After Christmas

While Greg was at work, I drove down to visit my Grandma (also known as GiGi) before she left for Florida (she and her husband, “uncle george” are snowbirds) for three whole months! I arrived before my cousin so we did our little gift exchange and I showed Grandma my bouquet and played ‘dollies’ with Amelia:

April and Olivia arrived and Amelia had to help Olivia open her present:

The rest of the day was spent chatting and … that’s all.

April did bring my copy of the CD with the Christmas pictures and this one is my favorite:

I wish we ordered some of these; but for some reason Greg really fell in love with this picture:

and that’s what we ordered (as well as our family picture – but I didn’t like how any of those turned out so I’m not going to bother posting them)

Saturday (second day after Christmas)

Greg and I didn’t do a damn thing and loved it!

Sunday (third day after Christmas)

Greg and I had to do some serious cleaning because Greg’s brothers were coming over to visit for a little while. I should have taken before and after pictures of the living room, cause it was a mess (and that’s an understatment!).

But, we did it and all was well. Greg’s brothers, Pat and Ken, came over and played on the Wii for hours as well as talked and all that jazz.

Funny story! Before Greg’s brothers arrived and while Greg was cleaning, Greg was watching Top Gear (his favorite show on the BBC channel) and was laughing hystarically. Due to Greg’s laughter, Amelia runs up to Daddy and gives him a big kiss and hug:

and tells Greg that everything’s going to be OK, and he’ll be alright (she thought Greg was crying!). It was so cute!

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Whew! That took a lot of work! It’s been ages since I’ve done a photo heavy post!

Amelia turns 2 years old in exactly 2 weeks!! Three weeks from today I will be somewhere close to the Cayman Islands. It still hasn’t set in with how close we are to this trip; even though I have 11 workings day to go!

Well, it’s late (as usual) and I’m heading to bed. I am so thankful I have Thursday and Friday off (again) this week!!

This week has really worn me down. I am still in (some) disbelief over the busyness at work; in the 2 years I’ve been there, it’s never, ever, been this busy, and the sudden increase in volume has taken everyone, managers, CEO, and President, aback! We were not prepared for this; staffing and mentally. I feel safe in saying that EVERYONE at work is worn out.

With that being said, I am SO looking forward to this three day weekend! And, it’s a busy weekend for us.

Saturday is Brooke’s baby shower that I completely forgot all about and, unfortunately, can not attend. Instead, Greg and I are going to be running a slew of errands and attacking the mountain of chores and laundry.

Sunday is Michele’s engagement cook-out/party. I still need to get the time from her…

On Monday, the day I am probably most excited about, we are having a mini-road trip to Pennsylvania! We’ve decided (because I somewhat insisted) to visit a state park in PA – to go somewhere different. Originally, I wanted to visit Philadelphia since I’ve never been (yes, I need to get out more). But, on Wednesday when we were talking about this, we went over our budget and determined we didn’t have the funds available (because we would spend a lot of money on food and we’re trying to cut back on our food spending habit) and decided to visit a park instead. So, we checked out PA’s Parks and decided to visit the Susquehannock State Park.

By Wednesday I was ready to run away and that is why I decided (read: insisted) that we (read: me) need to venture outside of Maryland – I felt the need to just get away from Maryland and all the stress related. So, that’s why we’re going to PA!

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So, there is a logical explanation of why I was feeling like the world was crushing me while everyone was pulling at my limbs in all different directions: hormones. Stupid cycle started on Thursday morning – just like clock work. Emotionally, I am feel much better than I was yesterday (Berger Cookies could have helped – mmm… chocolate), thought not 100% back to my ‘normal’ self; I hope to reach that state tomorrow. It’s funny because I wasn’t even sure the cycle was going to start on Thursday since I didn’t have any ‘warning signs’; no mood swings, no lower back ache, no increase in appetite or weird cravings, I felt pretty good (aside from stressed). Well, until Wednesday night (at work when I was about to loose it) and then Thursday morning. Have I mentioned how much I dislike being on birth control?

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I think I called Greg like 4 times at work today to see if the camera arrived (Dell has surprised us in the past), to which the answer was always: nope. We’re expecting the camera to arrive on Tuesday. Boo. I was hoping to break it in this weekend, especially at Susquehannonk Park. It was funny, last night Greg and I were talking about the new camera and our ‘rules’; he made me promise (which I technically haven’t) not to use the ‘auto-modes’, such as the “golfer mode” for action shots, or “moon and stars mode” for night shots, but to keep the camera on all manual all the time – like a real photographer. And, if I accepted his requirement, he had to accept mine: to allow me to take the pictures as I want to take them, meaning if I want to lay in the river to get a specific shot – then so be it. He can not ‘baby’ the camera. Either way, our lives are about the change with the addition of the new camera; I am more riskier, than Greg is, when it comes to capturing the picture that I envision.

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I don’t think I’ve mentioned our photography blog: J&G Photography. Since Greg is placing some of his pictures up for sale (he’s received a few reviews, but no sales yet), I thought it would be a good idea for him to have a photography blog/site. Greg, of course, agreed and has taken over. Now, I just need to work on the watermark – not really liking the one he created.

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I still haven’t looked for a wedding dress. Although, I think I am going to order a dress from PeriMart. I learned of the site from the message boards and checked them out – their prices are amazing. I’m not worried about the dress being a knock-off or if it has slight imperfections, as long as it fits and I look good in it – I’m happy. Plus, with the amount of money I am going to be spending on the dress – I’m probably getting what I paid for and that’s fine by me. Although, the person that shared the site said her dress was amazing, so who knows. Oh, and they ship for free.

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The first wedding planning meeting, for Michele, went very well. I think. I don’t what we got out of the meeting other than the colors of the wedding party (clover and cream) and our first, of many I’m sure, dates to try on dresses. Michele tried to get me to try on wedding dresses with her, but I told her that this is her wedding and not to worry about me.

We also talked about having a girls night (which I guess is a bachorlette party) the night before her wedding. Apparently, Michele and D are leaving on a cruise, from Baltimore to the Bahamas, the morning after their wedding, so the night before the wedding, Michele and her girls (me, her sister, and Michele’s daughter) will spend the night at the hotel (suite) and the following morning, have our hair done and get ready. Oh, and the wedding is going to take place in DC.

Michele also talked about sending save-the-dates next month as most of D’s family is out of state. I offered a few websites and helping make the STD’s (gave her my picnik log in information since I have a premium account), and talking about her STD’s get me thinking about the wedding announcements that I get to make once we’re married (and then I started to go off into a day dream of sorts).

Have I mentioned how excited I am to be a part of Michele’s wedding?

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Speaking of weddings, Greg band finally arrived! We picked it up over the weekend. I, personally, think it needs to be re-sized as it feels a little too big on his finger… and the fact that it slid off during testing. He’s in denial. I told him that he needs to make up his mind about the size before it’s too late.

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I’m trying to think of anything else mention…

Oh, I am finally a Pro Flickr’er again, and I uploaded the pictures from the Inappropriate Haf’la we went to on Saturday. I really wish I wrote down the names of the performers since I don’t remember a think about them, other than the songs they performed to. Either way, the party was great. The sangria was amazing (and there is still some in the fridge. And, it’s mighty strong) and we, Greg and I, had an amazing time. We stayed until 10pm.

The following morning we left for the Renn Fest and had a good time. Pictures from the Renn Fest can be found on Flickr as well. I would do a picture post, but I’m feeling a bit on the lazy side. That, and it’s 12:17am and I should go to bed.

As soon as I posted the last entry, I took my prescribed pain meds (2) and laid in bed. Too afraid to move because I was in some pain. More than I was expecting/remember. Greg laid in bed next to me, holding my hand and petting my hair as I started to fall into sleepy-land. Greg ended up taking a nap as well. Greg woke up before me, a few hours before me. I slept from 3:30-ish to just before 8pm. I could easily go back to sleep right now. But, I’m not.

Nope. I did some MORE laundry (just the clothes I wore over the weekend and some towels); we cleaned out the refrigerator (and it’s now COMPLETELY empty – no joke) and the cabinets and threw away anything and everything we haven’t touched. Yeah, that was about three bags of food (unopened or expired). Greg switched out the car seats and transferred the water and drinks from my trunk to his (I was going to do the driving to Ocean City, but after today’s events it was decided he should drive… just in case I need to sleep). I played a little Guitar Hero. Basically, I’m pushing off bedtime until absolutely necessary because I want to be able to sleep as deeply as possible.

Greg, for some unknown reason, wants to LEAVE the house around 6am. Our plan is to head up to Sonic’s for breakfast, go through Delawere and Rehobeth Beach before reaching our hotel. Also, we plan on getting to Ocean City as early as possible to get some pictures before the crowds come.

**on a side note about photography, Greg submitted 7 pictures onto a professional site for selling. After the site reviewed the submitted pictures, 4 were approved to sell!! And, when we used their calculators for price suggestion, one photo alone had a price tag of $750!! that the Site suggested! So, Greg has four photos up for sale!! Cross your fingers that we sell something and soon**

Since we’re going to get there uber early we’ve already decided on what places we want to visit for photo ops (and Greg is bringing the tripod). I have a few photo suggestions in my mind as well and the tripod is going to make the pictures so nice!

I talked to my Mom this afternoon, when I got home from the appointment (sometime around 1:30pm) and asked if there was anything she specifically wanted to see or do in Ocean City and her only answer was: Beach and Boardwalk. So, she’s going to be easy to please. I haven’t decided on what I want to see or do. Greg’s main objective is to get sunset/sunrise pictures. So, basically it looks like we’ll be lazy and play in the sand.

I’m debating if I want to bring along the laptop or not. I know we’re only going to be gone a day and a half, so the only real reason I would bring it is for Greg to have a place to upload his pictures and clean out his memory card… he can fill up his 4gig cards really quickly (and he has 2 of them plus the 1gig that came with the camera). I, on the other hand, rarely use up all my gigs, unless I take a lot of videos.

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I don’t know how many other Flickr fans there are (that read my blog) but I have a vent about Flickr. Their newest uploader, the 3.05, sucks! I’ve been using it for a few weeks and last night was the last straw for me. The uploader freezes, a lot, and tends to always have some weird issue for me. So, last night I said good bye to Uploader 3.05 and reinstalled the 2.5 version. I was writing and trying to post pictures about the family reunion last night, but I… just gave up on the uploading. The only thing I liked about the 3.05 uploader was that I could mark the pictures I wanted non-public prior to uploading, which I can’t do with 2.5 (it’s either all or nothing).

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Ok, so it’s now 12:02am. The dryer just went off so that means my clothes for the beach are done. The gum is starting to hurt again, so I am going to take this as a sign to take more meds and crash for the rest of the night.

I’m disappointed to write that there was no 5am Battering Ram team. We don’t know what happen from when we talked to the cop around 1pm to when we came home around 5pm; evidentially something happened because our neighbor was no longer ‘in hiding’, or so it seemed.

As expected, the O’s lost yesterday. But, the game was enjoyable nonetheless. I really enjoy baseball as a sport; it’s exciting to watch and play. I don’t really follow the team members (other than Brandon Fahey, but I follow him because of his strong inner strength rather than his (in)ability to play short stop) or their stats. I enjoy going to a game and I honestly root for the O’s and what other team they’re playing; hey, if a good hit was made, a great double or triple play was done – I’m going to cheer for you regardless.

I did take some nice pictures of the game:

Buildings in Baltimore City

Detroit Tigers Bullpen

Picture of us enjoying the game

I usually don’t wear a baseball cap but it was very sunny and hot and I don’t own a pair of sunglasses, so I took one of Greg’s hats (the cleanest one). I used to wear this hat when I worked at Weis (when they made me wear a hat) and Greg says I somehow shrunk that hat – hmm… doubt that… I just think he doesn’t want to wear it anymore for other reasons. Either way, it’s a neat hat – UAF – University of Alaska Fairbanks. Greg spent a good chunk of his childhood in Alaska (Kodiak and Sitka) and then in Oregon before moving to MD for good (for now). Moving on…

View from our seats

The section we sat in was the “AYCE” seats. We had “free” supplies of drink and snacks. But, given how hot it was I had a very small appetite and mostly drink my $20 worth of lemonade and soda. But, I did enjoy a few (maybe 3) ice cream sandwiches.

And, Greg and I forgot to put on sunblock so we both got a decent sunburn (I was expecting worse). But, at the same time, we (or I) want to have some tanned skin for when we go to the Caribbean this winter (and we’ve actually talked about going to a tanning salon!!) Luckily, I can hold a tan for quite some time due to my quarter bit Native American Indian heritage (hence the reason Amelia was so dark when she was born and how she’s more tan than Greg!)

Speaking of Amelia, she’s having a grand time with my Mom and step-dad! She loves to play with Lucy (the horse) and run around the huge yard. Mom bought her a little swimming pool after hearing about how well she did at the birthday party from the other weekend. It’s so cute to talk to Amelia over the phone! She’ll tell Greg and me that she misses and “wuves” us (yes, she can’t say “L”s very well at this moment). It’s hearing her say “I wuve you too” that’s the sinker for Greg and me. Amelia just started saying I Love You about two weeks ago on her own. It’s so quiet without her and we miss her to bits, but at the same time we’re able to get so much done around the condo and have more freedom to do spontaneous things after work.

This past Saturday we spent the day at my Mom’s celebrating her 49th birthday. Sean and I bought a bushel of crabs for Mom:

and just hung around the house until 10:30pm. Greg walked around and took some amazing pictures again, and he got the chance to use the wide angle lens some more (which I am totally loving):

We also set off a few fireworks, but those pictures didn’t turn out so great.

While visiting, Greg and my step-dad were talking about camera and lenses and the sorts (Step-dad is also an avid photographer but more along the lines of semi-pro) and Greg was telling him something about a tripod and my step-dad offers one to Greg! Actually, he let Greg pick one of two that he could have (and my step-dad has many more). So, what does Greg do with his new tripod, he goes and takes a picture of the night sky and stars… and I’ll have to post one of those photos later because I am unable to network to Greg’s computer at the moment.

All in all it was a nice weekend. I wish I could say the same about today. Work was uber stressful and my level of patience has dropped dramatically this month, among other things (*ahem*blogging*ahem*). I just feel… done… with everything at the moment. As well as bored. I’m frustrated at work because I’m not allowed (yes, they are not allowing me) to complete the tasks that they keep assigning me. I actually have to get permission to work on other things! It’s ridiculous! And I’m one of those people that like to keep my inbox empty – which means I only leave items in there that I need to be completed and as of tonight, I have over 20 uncompleted tasks and it drives me crazy.

Also, today, I had my dental evaluation. I only made this appointment so I could get some antibiotics for my tooth; which, I might add, the office had no problems, whatsoever, prescribing me Lorazepam over the phone, but they had to see me, in person, to prescribe Amoxicillion. What’s wrong with this picture? Also, I’ve come to the conclusion the dentists practically GIVE out Lortab or Hydrocodone! They didn’t even ask if I was in pain today and prescribed me MORE pain meds (fortunately, I still have plenty from when I had my gall bladder removal – but even then I’ve only taken two pills since the tooth broke on July 6th). Good thing I’m not addicted to this stuff. Oh, and this extraction is going to set me back $310!!! And we’re going to have to dip into our savings to pay for it since we’re going to Ocean City the day after my extraction – which they told me wasn’t going to be an easy procedure (and probably worse than the last one) and that it was a good idea to suggest/accept the Lorazepam for sedation and anxiety – which, by the way, is the reason it’s going to cost me $310 (the sedation alone is $145). What a great way to start my mini-vacation.

Greg and I had a serious talk about the possibility of me being pregnant and how we feel about it. While the thought is exciting and we are embracing the possibility, we’re a little concerned about how we’re going to make it. Presently, we’re actually doing OK. We have a little bit of money in the savings account (not a lot, but some) and we’re current with all our bills; as well as been on time with all our bills (meaning no late charges and improving our credit). Basically, at this moment in our life everything is working out just right – not too much, not too little. Adding a baby is going to make things a little more challenging, financially. We’ve talked about cutting back our expenses (canceling cable, but keeping the Internet, eating out less, etc) and finding ways to bring in more income, such as me looking more into LiveOps and Greg selling his photos online (which we’re actually getting ready to set up; Greg just needs to pick out 5-10 of his best photos and edit them to his level of perfection). I used one of the online pregnancy calculators and it stated that if I am pregnant and conceived around the time of my last cycle (which, again, was just 2 days of spotting), that my estimated due date is April 10, 2009. That’s a little freaky. I really need to find a new doctor and get the answer.

The plan was to meet at the park around 4pm. Greg and I decided to take advantage of cooking on the (charcoal) grill and stopped at Wal-Mart to buy extra meat to cook so we can have pre-cooked meals for the next few days.

I’ve never been to Patapsco Park before, so the sights were all new to me and I didn’t know what to expect. The park is huge! And, there is a small stream and river that goes through and around the park. I love rivers! I spent a good bit of my early childhood at the old Savage Mill and playing in the river.

We found where Greg’s Mom and brother set up ‘camp’ and we began our cooking and exploring. Also, there was a nice little play area near the ‘camp site’. The weather was perfect! The bugs were minimal. The drunks were mostly tolerable. Over all, it was a great day! Here are my favorite pictures of the day: